Jerry Schatzberg

Jerrold Schatzberg (born June 26, 1927) is an American photographer and film director. After establishing himself as a successful celebrity and fashion photographer, he transitioned to making feature films, as a part of the New Hollywood movement.

He is best known for his films The Panic in Needle Park (1971), for which he was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival (and lead actress Kitty Winn won Best Actress); and Scarecrow (1973), which won the shared Palme d'Or at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival.

Early life and education Schatzberg was born to a Jewish family of furriers and grew up in the Bronx. His parents were not artistic, and he remarks that his only exposure to arts during his childhood was going to the movies with his father on weekends. When he was 13, his family moved to Rego Park, Queens, where he attended Forest Hills High School. He enlisted in the US Navy at the end of World War II, then continued after the war ended as a hospital corpsman for two years. After the Navy, he attended the University of Miami for a year before returning to New York City to work for his family's fur business.

His father expected him to take over his part of the family business, but Schatzberg had no interest. Instead, he started working for his uncle's diaper rental business. A promotion offered customers free pictures of their baby, and Schatzberg found himself in his first role as photographer, taking pictures of client's babies for two dollars a sitting. His first camera was a Rolleicord medium-format, twin-lens reflex camera. While working for Helburn, he enrolled in a photography course taught by designer and photographer Alexey Brodovich, whose other students included other prominent photographers Diane Arbus, Richard Avedon, Garry Winogrand, and others. moving into a space in a small, broken-down building kitty corner from Helburn's studio on 25th Street and Park Avenue South in Manhattan. Within a year, he was working for Vogue on assignments for editor-in-chief Alexander Liberman.

Among Schatzberg's most famous photographs are the cover photo of the Bob Dylan album Blonde on Blonde, released in 1966, and the cover of The Rolling Stones single "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" where the group is dressed in drag. Schatzberg worked with writer Carol Eastman, who based the script on recordings Schatzberg made during his friendship with model Anne St. Marie. Eastman also based the character of Aaron, a fashion photographer, on Schatzberg. Schatzberg and Dunaway were romantically involved before the film's production, but had split up by the time filming started.

Schatzberg went on to direct The Seduction of Joe Tynan with Alan Alda and Meryl Streep in 1979, Honeysuckle Rose with Willie Nelson and Dyan Cannon in 1980, Misunderstood (based on a novel by Florence Montgomery) starring Gene Hackman in 1984, No Small Affair starring Demi Moore in 1984, and Street Smart in 1987, which earned Morgan Freeman his first Oscar nomination.

In 1989, he directed Reunion, a drama based on a novel by Fred Uhlman with a screenplay by Harold Pinter. Though it was well received in France and was nominated for a Palme D'Or at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival, it received only a weekend-long release in the United States in 1991. With no home video or streaming release, it was virtually unseen until a restored version was given a two-week theatrical release by Rialto Pictures at the Film Forum in New York City in April 2026.

He was a member of the jury at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2013, he was developing a Scarecrow sequel with writer Seth Cohen that was not made.

In 2021, Schatzberg revealed his intentions to make one last film, admitting that he "[doesn't] know what it is yet." He sought out and was considering adapting Atticus Lish's novel The War for Gloria.

Personal life Schatzberg married Corrine Loeb, his high-school sweetheart, at age 22. The couple had two children together.

At the time of the divorce, Schatzberg was engaged to Faye Dunaway. Dunaway left Schatzberg later that year for actor Marcello Mastroianni.

Schatzberg married French American actress Maureen Kerwin in 1983; they were divorced in 1998.

In the 1960's he co-owned the famous nightclub Ondine in New York City, named after his racing yacht. Opened in the mid-1960s and located on East 59th Street in Manhattan near the East River, the club hosted legendary early performances by rock bands like The Doors and Buffalo Springfield. The club was frequently visited by celebrities like Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, and Jackie Kennedy. Later he opened another club, the Salvation.

Filmography Film Year Title Notes 1970 Puzzle of a Downfall ChildStory co-written with screenwriter Adrian Joyce 1971 The Panic in Needle Park 1973 Scarecrow 1976 Sweet RevengeAlso producer 1979 The Seduction of Joe Tynan 1980 Honeysuckle Rose 1984 Misunderstood No Small Affair 1987 Street Smart 1989 Reunion 1995 Lumière and CompanyDocumentary 2000 The Day the Ponies Come BackCo-written with Bob Cea

Television

Awards and nominations

Books

Schatzberg, de la photo au cinema. Michel Ciment & Jerry Schatzberg. Chêne/Hachette, 1982. Thin Wild Mercury: Touching Dylan's Edge. Jerry Schatzberg. Genesis Publications, 2006. Paris, 1962: Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior, the Early Collections. Jerry Schatzberg & Julia Morton. Rizzoli, 2008. Women Then: 1954-1969. Jerry Schatzberg & Julia Morton. Rizzoli, 2010. Dylan By Schatzberg. Jerry Schatzberg & Jonathan Lethem. ACC Art Books, 2018.